NESPA Winner: Localizing Contest, 2023
The Cypress, Brookline High School, Brookline, MA
When the school day ended on Thursday, Sept. 28, many students exited the STEM wing’s doors and crowded the Muslim Student Association (MSA)’s loaded bake sale table on Cypress Field, vying for the numerous treats and sweets the club had to offer. MSA members utilized the stream of students to educate them about both the Moroccan earthquake and the high school’s Muslim community.
Among those standing behind the bake sale table was MSA co-president and senior Zyad Baliamoune. Baliamoune said the event was important to him because the earthquake, which killed at least 2,946 Moroccans in early September, had hit especially close to home.
“I’m Moroccan, and the earthquake shook my world because I knew people who suffered in it,” Baliamoune said. “I knew it was my part, being here and being more fortunate, to do what I could to help my family, my friends and my people back there.”
In addition to their Canvas announcement and the large sign perched against the table, sophomore and club member Sophia Ismail emphasized the club’s use of another unconventional form of outreach: food.
“We have some ethnic foods here, so we hope those will also spread awareness,” Ismail said. “We have baklava (a pastry eaten in the Middle East), and there are some different Moroccan cakes.”
